Citroen drops Loeb Monte appeal

Makinen's 24th victory has made him the most successful rally driver of all time, drawing clear of Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, and Juha Kankkunen, all of whom have 23 victories.

Citroen incurred the penalty by changing the wheels of Loeb's Xsara WRC in a service area where tyre changes were not allowed. The manufacturer persuaded the Monte Carlo Rally stewards to suspend the penalty, pending an appeal to world motorsport's governing body, the FIA.

However, they have now decided not to pursue the appeal, a decision that will be confirmed by Citroen tomorrow (Friday). Citroen Sport boss Guy Frequelin admitted at the time that his team had made "a mistake" in changing Loeb's wheels at the end of leg one.

However, he argued that the two-minute penalty imposed by the stewards was too severe, because Loeb had gained no competitive advantage.

Historically, the FIA Court of Appeal has increased, rather than reduced, penalties imposed by event stewards. This is a possible reason for the team withdrawing their appeal, but nobody from Citroen was available for comment.


Tommi Makinen (Subaru) 10
Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) 6
Carlos Sainz (Ford) 4
Colin McRae (Ford) 3
Marcus Gronholm (Peugeot) 2
Petter Solberg (Subaru) 1